Keating: Porsche 963 First Car That’s “Intimidated” Me

Ben Keating says the Porsche 963 he will race in next week’s Rolex 24 at Daytona is the first car he has driven that has ever “intimidated” him.

The Texan driver will be part of the lineup in the No. 85 JDC-Miller Motorsports Porsche for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season opener alongside Richard Westbrook, Tijmen van der Helm and Phil Hanson.

He’ll be pulling double duty as he is also entered in the No. 2 United Autosports Oreca 07 Gibson in the LMP2 class, kicking off his full-time campaign for the team.

Keating previously drove for JDC-Miller in 2022 in the final year of the DPi regulations, scoring an overall podium alongside teammates Westbrook, Loic Duval and Tristan Vautier.

However, the 52-year-old says getting to grips with the hybrid-powered Porsche 963 represents a much bigger challenge than the Cadillac DPi-V.R. he drove two years ago.

“The GTP car is the most complicated car I’ve ever driven by far,” Keating told Sportscar365. “It’s the first car that’s ever really intimidated me. 

“There are a lot more knobs and buttons and things to control for the driver. There’s a lot to take in. 

“The DPi was actually easier to drive than the LMP2. It had the most amazing traction control, and you could really get aggressive with the car. The systems would keep you within the limits. 

“The GTP car is harder than the LMP2. The brake-by-wire system takes some of the feel away; you have to get used to it and learn how to drive this car on this tire.”

Keating will be contesting the Rolex 24 for the 14th time in his career next week, and the eighth time entered in two different cars.

In 2022 he drove in both the DPi and LMP2 classes, while he has also contested the twice-around-the-clock classic in both LMP2 and GTD machinery.

“I believe every car in a 24-hour race is a long shot, so therefore I like to double my chances by doing two different cars!” Keating said. 

“With the way the IMSA’s rules are with safety cars for any kind of incident, I can be the slowest driver in the class and any time I lose I can gain back with a safety car. 

“My only real job is to take care of the car, and with my two LMP2 championship titles, JDC has enough faith in me to do that.”

As the nominated Bronze-rated driver, Keating is required to take the start in the United LMP2 entry, and must complete four-and-a-half hours over the course of the race.

However, he only needs to drive for two hours in the GTP car, which he says he plans to do early in the race before returning to complete his drive time in LMP2. 

“In GTP, the drive time is equivalent to two-and-a-half stints,” he said. “I’ll knock that out early in the race. It puts a burden on my three co-drivers, but not on me!”